it’s murder by numbers

Most people would write something on the first day of the new year. Not me though, for reasons that my heart just wasn’t in it.

I was watching TV on January 1 when I received a message on my mobile. My good friend, Anabel Bosch, had collapsed and was undergoing emergency tests in the hospital. To say that I was speechless is an understatement; my girlfriend would later on say that all the color had drained from me. Anabel was like a sister to me.

She had suffered from an aneurysm that eventually led to massive brain hemorrhage.

Saying goodbye to her on the eve of January 9 was one of the hardest things to do, even if she fought all the way to the early morning of the 11th. No longer would I hear her amazing voice driven by raw emotion, or taste her amazing chili.

Sunday the 25th would have been her 33rd birthday. No rants from me for this post.

Give me.
Words with a need all their own.
The gentlest of entreaties
the most selfish of pleas

Give me,
Another chance to fight the world
with our ideas.

Give me,
One more glimpse of your smile
Now forever only on paper
and memory

Give me,
This moment of thanks
For setting the measure
Of how life can be lived.

Goodbye dear friend. Our loss… your peace.

Stolen weekend

A friend wanted to suggest “_______’s Alibi: Murphy’s law in effect”. A good title but this one let’s everyone know what was taken away from me.

After my company’s Christmas party, I went out to the local mall/club scene with a couple of friends for some drinks and (for the lady at least) a bit of dancing. The club was pretty packed and (as luck would have it) the lady’s bag was nicked.

The good thing was 1) it had been less than 10 seconds since we had last checked on the bag; 2) the bag was cream colored helping it stand out during the dark, early morning and finally; 3) the couple (a boy and a girl) who nicked it weren’t very good at being inconspicuous (you’d have to have seen it to believe it… it defies explanation through words).

As luck would have it, we caught them and had them duly processed… over most of Sunday early morning, ALL of Monday (8am to 8pm), AND Tuesday morning.

Yes… it took that long. The police gave us the run around, the mall security and bouncers REFUSED to agree to become “arresting officers” leaving yours truly to assume the role.

Citizen’s arrest indeed. I swear that stupidity and cowardice should be crimes!

The good thing is that it’s on pause (they’re doing the investigation and IF the culprits show up after bail then we go for the hearings) and hopefully won’t do a Lazarus on me (or those others with me) any time soon. My friend’s bag is also doing a stint as evidence so the sooner this is really over with the sooner we can all get back to our normal lives.

—getting down with the sickness

Darwinism

In the weeks that have passed I have seen, read, and been exposed to a variety of incidents that have brought about my renewed interest in the debate about  Darwinism.

It was a few weeks ago while driving that i saw a boy (must have been at MOST 18) alight from a passenger jeep and start to cross the road… while looking at the vehicle that he had just exited. All this along one of the faster stretches of road and nowhere near a pedestrian crossing (not that it matters in this country). Naturally he nearly gets run over by two cars, both trying to avoid hitting him. He looked as if the speeding cars were just an inconvenience and not deadly at all.

Whenever i think about it, I wish someone actually had hit him. It would prove to be a much better lesson for him all things considered or, better yet, might have raised the quality of the collective human gene pool a little bit.

Survival of the fittest. But then I shouldn’t be one to talk. I’m in the habit of resurrecting old PC games that are sometimes just so much better (playability and story wise, not graphics which seems to be the soothing balm that most game companies apply in order to make their selection palatable) but are no longer in the interest of the mainstream.

- going the way of the Dodo

signs of the times

I normally have tons of things on my mind but the state of things all over the world and at home have left me in a state of “meh” this past week. That is until today.

Rains normally don’t bother me but today’s downpour was exceptional. I managed to get all the way to my office via back-roads which showed light to no flooding (believe me when I saw that here in Manila flooding is a serious issue there are photos out there that show people neck-deep along a major thoroughfare). I had gotten to the office without so much as a spot on me. All i had to do was cross the road, enter my office and I would be shielded from the elements for the forseeable nine hours.

It was then that I felt the lurch. It’s hard to put into exact words the feeling that just because you were thinking something, the powers-that-be decide to make you the butt of an horrible joke (and no I did not just commit the grammatical equivalent of shooting my foot, it just depends on whose version of English you’re using; the Queen’s or those damned rebels).

Like Oedipus, Ajax, and Orestes (okay I’m not THAT epic) I confidently stepped from my ride and stared at a modern day recreation of a medievel defense… the moat (and the water was running, not stagnant!). Shaw Boulevard, a major thoroughfare, was under five inches of running water. Yes, ALL I had to do was cross the street, but I forgot to bring a jump pack or those nifty booster shoes from the Mario Brothers movie or the Baron’s suspensor belt or some other suitable device of avoidance.

Ten minutes later and I’m in front of my console looking at my girlfriend’s online status message: “Let’s swim to the zoo!” (oh those Sesame Street days! *sigh*). I swear sometimes I think she’s psychic.

- running out of dry land

idols

And I don’t mean the physical sense (i.e. grim statuettes of torture/execution scenes no matter how religious), or in the reality TV sense (American, Pinoy, Azerbaijan or some other country’s incarnation of Idol). I’m talking about the type of person who isn’t popular but has the charisma to inspire CULTS.

I bring this up only because I had the misfortune of getting a peek at the local news today in the ever loving confines of my office pantry. There, while wistfully looking out the window at my apartment a kilometer away, I overheard a news report that one of the many religious cult leaders (before someone else who might read this sends me flame mail, this is MY point of view so live with it) was thinking of running for president of this glorious country (hint: for those unfamiliar with the term, look up: sarcasm ).

Let me give a primer for those unfamiliar with the quasi-religious state that is the Philippine government. There are two major religious cults which are headed by Filipinos and are an offshoot of Christianity (other more widely international groups such as the Jesuits or Opus Dei are not considered cults in my book), Iglesia ni Cristo and El Shaddai.

Usually the upcoming presidentiables try to court one or both of these religious institutions since both operate under the premise of “whoever the head of the cult/org/church tells me to vote for is the one I will vote.” Much like a Tyranid Hive Mind. Millions of people with only one voice and consciousness… now if only we could get them to actually work towards a common goal.

In a country that gets movie stars, housewives and who knows what else as presidents or hopefuls; I (as a gamer) wish that Kane would actually run for president.

Admittedly with this person’s ideology, I’d probably be in a body bag in next to no time but at least it would be with the knowledge that the country would be headed somewhere with a clear purpose.

Even if that direction is the place that most of this country’s “leaders” have been taking it.

-Brotherhood, Unity, Peace.

curiosity killed…

Maybe you’ve gleaned from my previous post, the fact that I’m into computers and computer games. Maybe. Let me help clear the mystery… I VERY MUCH AM.

Beyond running my brain through an RTS maze, I also take the time to take a peek around the net for newer things, of which online comics are one of my indulgences. If i had to make a room and floorspace for them then Penny Arcade would lie at the top of my virtual comic book pile (not that I read that many online comics to begin with). It’s always a treat to see what Tycho and Gabe dish out (specifically in the news section).

Which brings me to my title… they used a term I was unfamiliar with in their post dated Sept.15. So doing a quick search I came to realize that the particular thing in reference was a medieval torture device and from its description, one of the more painful ones. The site that I found though, had even more devices which I morbidly began to read about.

Part of me wishes I hadn’t and another part (the louder and more vocal one) insists that reading through the entire list was in fact, educational. Never go around and “pretend” to know something. Rather, make sure you know a little bit of everything so nothing really catches you off-guard.

After going through their well, i found myself pondering dinner. Over here in the Philippines, pork (or chicken) barbecue is served on bamboo skewers and suddenly I’m craving for some of that with a good dose of spicy vinegar to dip it in.

Call me nostalgic…

- stop, drop, and roll

First Steps

They say that first steps are always the hardest. Though there are always exceptions to the rule (given the fact that this isn’t really my first blog). I find myself writing (yet again) familiar and definitely selfish musings just so that there is an avenue for people to know me without having to know me.

But oh! what to write?!

In this case, how about my surreal encounter with a sub-world right here in the city I live in.

Anyway here I am at 4am watching a bit of television. Since the idiot box in the pantry isn’t receiving its cable feed, I’m stuck with whatever the local channels dish up. It just so happens that the tube is tuned onto one that’s playing music videos while at the same time, flashing the contents of a chat channel (which the users refer to as a forum) along one side.

As luck would have it, I see the terms “guild” and “active” used onscreen by one of the text message chatters (apparently that’s the way to have your message played on the channel). As an occasional online gamer and avid fantasy reader those two words are extremely familiar to me. Though how they could possibly be used in the context of an SMS chat room escapes me.

Now that my attention’s grabbed though I start to take note of the other messages scrolling along at break-neck speed. Messages from supposed (who knows these days right?) girls looking for sugar daddies to take care of them. Invites from supposed guys looking for only 20 something women to hang out with.

The oldest profession advertising on national television at the premium of a few pesos.

Now I can’t wait for what new things are to be dished my way. Maybe someone’s kidney for sale or, better yet, the services of a highly qualified surgeon in order to perform a lobotomy on someone of my choosing.

Think of the possibilities.

- waiting for the karmic backlash